Like many long time fans of the games, I was certainly not impressed by the trailer for this film. While I was pleased to see plenty of faithful references to the games (Itchy, Tasty, Lisa Trevor) I immediately got the impression that this would be a loosely based take on the first two Resident Evil games.
I can't say I hated this movie, necessarily. There seemed to be some effort at capturing the spirit of the games, and unlike the usual Resident Evil movies, this one seemed like it was trying to be scary. Atmosphere and tone were relatively good. Director Johannes Roberts said he wanted Raccoon City to feel bleak and deserted, and he definitely succeeded, for the most part. Some of the sets felt genuine and right out of the games. Then other moments just suffered. The famous foyer of the mansion and the lobby of the police department looked like poorly rendered cgi images! Plus there were a few moments where it felt like it was trying to tell you it was a "video game movie," which sadly came across as silly. At some points this film felt like a tribute to movies like The Shining. At other points it felt like an Uwe Boll flick.
All of the monster action is fun enough. This movie offers a different take on the spread of the virus, opting for a slow spread of the zombie infection (Hey, there's something up with your eye!) as opposed to arriving and finding the city overrun with zombies. I thought that was interesting enough.
Unfortunately, the movie suffers from pacing and writing issues. The more you think about it after seeing it, the less it will make sense. Some things are over explained, or not explained enough. Plus there are many deviations from the story of the video games. Normally this should be expected, but I suspect that many fans will find some of them to be intentionally done, and there by off putting, if not insulting. I'll be the first to tell you that the movie could have done without the subplot about Clair and Chris's childhood.
Cast wise it was ok enough. I know the internet certainly bashed the casting choices, but they did what they could. The script wasn't always kind to them though, which led to some cringy moments here and there. (What's a chat room?!?) Leon being the object of lots of comic relief was certainly distracting. We get it. He's a rookie!
So if you're like me and go into it with low expectations, maybe you'll have fun. Just don't think too hard about it. If you're a long time fan of the game franchise and bummed out, fortunately for you the remake of the Resident Evil 2 game was awesome!
